A veteran Stirling athlete has hit the heights after completing a gruelling Alpine ultramarathon in almost a day - claiming a top prize in the process.
Roger Greenaway, 70, took part in the CCC ultramarathon race on Friday, with the run taking him through 100km of mountain terrain starting in the Italian resort of Courmayeur and travelling through Switzerland before the finish line in the French city of Chamonix.
After setting off at 9am, the Central Athletics Club runner traversed technical mountain trails and took in 6,100 metres of climbing to finish in a time of 24 hours, 12 minutes and and 55 seconds.
It meant that Roger scooped the crown as the fastest finisher in the over 70s category, receiving a trophy for his achievement at a special ceremony in the shadow of Mont Blanc.
After first picking up running while living in the Lake District, Roger continued with the habit when he moved to Stirling in 1987.
Roger said: “It’s a real blue riband event and attracts runners from all over the world - the whole week is a bit of a running festival in the Alps.
“It was 20 years ago that I first attempted the West Highland Way race - which is about 95 miles - and the huge difference between them is that the Alps route is just so hilly.
“The strange appeal of these races is that you don’t actually have to run fast; in cross-country races, you’re at risk of twisting an ankle but you don’t really ever run fast in ultra races and you’re less likely to injure yourself despite being on your feet for 24 hours or more.
“It’s just something I’ve got into and when things go well, it feels so good when you reach dawn and you realise you’ve still got the energy to get to the end.
“The crowds at the end are huge because it takes over the Chamonix area for the weekend and there is a lot of razzmatazz around it.”
Roger admits completing the race was a major achievement after a previous attempt at another race in the series covering 100 miles and says he will be a regular runner in local long-distance races to come.
“I attempted the bigger race - which is 100 miles - and got around three-quarters of the way around, so I thought I’d try the 100 kilometre one this time around”, Roger added.
“This is probably the last race I’ll do abroad and I’ll just enjoy doing local parkruns and races again because that’s my big ambition achieved.”
